The open internet has allowed numerous online services and applications to flourish over the past decades. Without net neutrality principles ensuring equal access, many of the internet services we rely on today may never have emerged. The Federal Communications Commission's recent vote to restore net neutrality rules is a positive step for fostering further innovation, particularly in emerging areas like Web3 and blockchain technology.

Prior to net neutrality regulations, internet service providers could prioritize traffic from their preferred services and block or throttle competitors. This anti-competitive behavior stifled new market entrants and hampered consumer choice. The early internet's open architecture, built on neutral packet switching protocols, enabled companies like YouTube, Netflix, Zoom and many others to develop successful online applications and services accessible to all.

If internet providers could discriminate against data traffic, they may have suppressed upcoming rivals in favor of their own offerings. Facetime and other video calling apps could have been blocked to promote a provider's proprietary service. The open playing field created by net neutrality prevents such anti-competitive scenarios.

The net neutrality principles provide a stable regulatory environment allowing innovators across sectors to create new internet-based products and services. Emerging technologies like Web3, decentralized applications, and generative AI all rely on open internet access to reach end users. Without neutrality protections, providers could stifle development and adoption of these innovations.

Helium's decentralized wireless network illustrates how net neutrality enables blockchain-powered services to compete with established telecom providers. The company rewards operators of internet-connected hotspots with cryptocurrency tokens for providing wireless coverage. This decentralized public infrastructure network (DePIN) model offers an alternative to traditional carrier-owned wireless networks.

However, ambiguity around blockchain token regulations creates uncertainty that could hinder adoption of DePIN and Web3 services in the US market. The FCC's clear net neutrality framework provides regulatory clarity lacking in other agencies' piecemeal enforcement approach to emerging technologies.

Sustainable rural broadband access represents another opportunity for innovative DePIN networks to provide unique solutions. Local community members could deploy tailored wireless infrastructure and earn tokens for its operation and maintenance. But unclear token regulation slows progress in underserved areas that could benefit most.

The open internet principles at the core of net neutrality provide a model for balanced regulation that fosters competition and consumer choice. While some agencies take an enforcement-first stance causing regulatory uncertainty, the FCC demonstrated a forward-looking approach accounting for technological evolution. This supports American innovation across sectors building upon internet connectivity.

Net neutrality created an open environment where numerous pivotal internet services and applications we rely on today could emerge and flourish. Preserving these principles clears the path for the next wave of world-changing, internet-enabled technologies and business models to develop and reach global markets from US origins. Regulatory ambiguity should not hinder innovations that expand digital opportunity and connectivity for all.